battleground ohio. the fight over jobs and the economy. obama, romney, in the same state on the same day. a dramatic day in the jerry sandusky trial. how did the authorities find and approach those victims who kept those secrets for all those years? your money. new fees, confusing charges. lots of big banks are at it again. and what's buried in the pages of fine print could cost you. firestorm, the enemy that's really fueling those fires in the west and could keep firefighters on the job until fall. and a mother's fight to save her daughters and the ground breaking battle that changed what's standing in her way. "nightly news" begins now.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening. if you were looking for a preview of the upcoming fall election season this was it today. the state of ohio is election central. ohio has given us eight american presidents. it's a hugely valuable swing state. you have to be in it to win it if you want to win in november. that is why both obama and romney were there today slugging it out and the difference between the two of them and the direction they see for the country could not have been more clear. it's also where we begin tonight, our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd at the white house this evening. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it's a taste of what we expect to see in the fall. president obama, mitt romney, making dueling speeches on the economy in the same battleground state on the same day. this first showdown though of campaign 2012? all in ohio. president obama today in

cleveland. >> it is great to be back in cleveland. >> reporter: mitt romney 250 miles to the south in cincinnati. >> what a great day to be in such a warm place, isn't it? >> reporter: the two candidates taking the stage within minutes of each other. for the president, a campaign rally and 52-minute speech designed to calm nervous supporters about his economic message. >> of course we have a lot more work to do. everybody knows that. the debate in this election is about how we grow faster and how we create more jobs. >> reporter: meanwhile, at a factory in cincinnati, romney continued to point to the president's record. >> don't forget, he's been president for three and a half years, and talk is cheap. action speaks very loud. if you want to see the results of his economic policies, look around ohio, look around the country. you'll see a lot of people are hurting. >> reporter: while the president tried to laugh off his comments about private sector doing fine and simply another one of the campaign season's silly gaffs -- >> you may have heard i recently

made my own unique contribution to that process. >> reporter: romney's campaign is featuring it in a brand new tv ad today, arguing the president is out of touch. >> the private sector is doing fine. >> reporter: mr. obama's difficult few weeks have his supporters increasingly worried about how he talks about the economy. >> who did not vote for obama? >> reporter: democratic pollster peter hart found in a recent focus group that the president has a lot more work to do with swing voters and former supporters. >> democrats are feeling uncertain because they don't like mitt romney, but they can see what the vision, what the direction is for barack obama. >> reporter: mindful of this the president seemed to take pains today to talk to these skeptical swing voters. >> if you want to give the policies of the last decade another try then you should vote for mr. romney. >> reporter: while the president didn't stay in ohio long, he's already in new york city for both official and campaign business. on the official schedule is a ceremony at ground zero. on the campaign schedule, two

star-studded events, fundraisers featuring sarah jessica parker and mariah carey. speaking of the economy a big concern in america is the financial crisis in europe because it could have a huge impact here. there are elections going on in greece and france this coming weekend that could set the stage for a breakup of the eurozone, the 17 nations that use the euro as their currency. the economy in greece is already sick. there's trouble in spain and now italy. and the problem now is it's in the air. something you can't see. but economists call it a con contagion. nbc's stephanie gosk reports from the next trouble spot in italy. >> reporter: street brawls in rome today. social unrest triggered by painful economic reforms -- higher taxes, budget cuts, raising the retirement age. italy faces a recession,

deficits, and troubled banks giving it a place alongside portugal, ireland, greece, and spain -- countries that threatened to unravel the 17-nation eurozone. their initials earning the nickname piigs. but italy has an advantage the others do not. some of the best known and respected brands in the world. how is business? >> pretty good. i mean, 2011 we closed the best year ever. >> reporter: this ferrari factory in the north is a shining example of what the country's economy still does right. italian leaders say it's products like this that will help this country grow out of the recession. the makers of ferrari assure me this is a very smooth ride, but the road ahead for italy's economy might not be. even if italy can make the right reforms, time is running out. this weekend neighboring greece

may elect a government that opposes a hard-won bailout agreement. if the deal is broken, greece could be pushed out of the eurozone. >> if you see the dominos as greece and then spain, the next one behind that, the obvious choice, is italy. >> reporter: the fourth largest economy in all of europe. italy's collapse would bring worldwide pain and something a coin tossed into the fountain will not be able to wish away. stephanie gosk, nbc news, rome. here in this country in pennsylvania prosecutors in the jerry sandusky case are close to wrapping up the case. today one of their strongest witnesses, a young man who actually described screaming for help in sandusky's basement. again, fair warning tonight about the rough content of this story. a report from our national correspondent in pennsylvania. >> reporter: an 18-year-old known as victim number nine testified to a pattern of sexual

assaults in the basement of the sandusky home where, he says, the defendant forced him into various sex acts on repeated occasions over a three-year period. the witness at times nervous and biting his nails said sandusky took him to his home more than 100 times where the former penn state defensive coach got really aggressive and sexually assaulted him in the basement bedroom. sometimes, he said, he would scream, telling him to get off of me, but he never told anybody he testified. no one would believe you. he's an important guy. who would believe kids? the young man is the last of eight alleged victims to testify, all of them participants in sandusky's second mile charity for troubled kids. the defendant has pleaded not guilty on all counts. >> the prosecution did very well. given the number of compelling witnesses that were presented this week, the defense will be hard pressed to overcome that case. >> reporter: a state investigator explained how the state built its case against sandusky over an often

frustrating three-year period using undercover surveillance of sandusky and a lot of knocking on doors. it was a daunting case to try to get other victims to come forward he testified. people wanted to maintain that secret. but then a break. an anonymous e-mail that led investigators to mike mccleary the former penn state quarterback who told them he discovered sandusky late at night with a young boy in the school shower. in 2011 they got search warrants to sandusky's home and later a locker room at penn state where they found various photographs of some of sandusky's alleged victims, second mile children with asterisks and dashes next to some of their names. the defense is now expected to start presenting their case on monday when sandusky's lawyer was wished good luck after today's court session he replied, we'll need it, but at least we got through this week. brian? >> part of our team covering this trial, michael, thank you. in the west it has been another critical day for

firefighters battling multiple, major wildfires and part of what's providing the fuel, the kindling for the huge fires is the damage caused over a massive area by a small insect. the story tonight from nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: on the front lines of two out-of-control wildfires, no quick end in sight. >> i really don't think the agencies are going to be able to walkway from this entirely until fall. >> reporter: in new mexico, a state of emergency where governor susana martinez said this was an accident waiting to happen. >> just a little bit of wind combined with pine needles that are four feet deep, year after year after year of mismanagement? that's what causes these enormous fires to trip so quickly. >> reporter: tonight both fires are feeding on hundreds of acres of trees killed by pine needles over the past decade. across the west, beetle infestation has infected 22 million acres, a swath of land roughly the size of indiana.

firefighters call it highly combustible wooden poles. the black smoke here, dead trees igniting like kindling. the fight from the ground? too dangerous for firefighters. >> we can easily get running with wind running fire through that very dead and dry fuel. obviously that's dangerous for firefighters. >> reporter: firefighters could not save the small town in the midst of a pine forest 224 homes were lost. and, brian, tonight there was an all out scramble to get more of the heavy air tankers into the air to fight these raging wildfires, but after two pilots died earlier this month in a crash, red tape has kept several of those planes on the ground even though they're just a few minutes away from some of the largest wildfires burning tonight. brian? >> unbelievable situation there. miguel almaguer, thank you for that report. now to a story about your money and maybe your bank.

some of the new regulations on banks have been eating into their profits so they're finding new ways to make money from the people who put their money in the bank. our report from our senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> what do you think the owl said? >> who, who. >> that's right. >> reporter: like many americans, steve dolan's family lives on the financial edge. he checks his bank account all the time. this week he accidently overdrew his account by $150. he got hit with $102 in penalties. >> the $102 is a significant portion of our income. >> reporter: in addition to two overdraft penalties, dolan was charged $34 for bouncing a $28 check. >> i think it's unfair, predatory, i think they're attacking the working class. >> reporter: a new report on the biggest banks and credit unions found that excessive overdraft costs and sometimes hidden fees are putting families at

financial risk with penalties that can run hundreds of dollars. >> it's important that a product like a checking account be something that can be easily understood and not be wrapped with hidden fees that a consumer can't keep track of. >> reporter: yet, the report also found that the typical checking account now can have as many as three dozen fees, some of them exotic, the empty envelope fee, self-service fee, even a fee for counting coins. >> we don't know what a lot of these fees are but they are in the disclosure. >> reporter: buried in checking account disclosure agreements which now run a median of 69 pages. richard hunt is a spokesman for the banking industry. but a 69-page disclosure? >> we don't like it. we don't like it. >> reporter: do you think any consumer can comprehend it? >> i know i can't. >> reporter: why do you do it? >> we have to. all of the regulations passed by congress and the regulators force us to do so. >> reporter: two banks have

moved to simpler disclosures. banks say they are under financial pressure that have cost them $250 to provide a checking account and they have to recover the money some way. consumers can take a dispute to arbitration but there is a catch here, too. some banks have buried in the fine print a requirement that the consumer pay all the bank's expenses and attorney fees even if the bank loses. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. as we continue along the way tonight, what if there was something you knew could save the life of your child but a law stood in the way? dr. nancy snyderman with the story of a mother in a desperate fight to change the way things are done. later, a woman at the top of her field and making history in the process every day. there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone.

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terrible fate unless they get life-saving bone marrow transplants. tonight she is in the fight for their lives to change a surprising problem she discovered in the bone marrow donor system. here with a preview of her report on tonight's "rock center" is our chief medical correspondent dr. nancy snyder. >> 13-year-old jordan needs a bone marrow transplant. she has a genetic disorder that destroys bone marrow and increases her risk of cancer. >> the transplant scares me. i've known people that have actually passed away afterwards. >> reporter: the bone marrow transplant is jordan's only hope for survival, and to encourage more people to donate her mother doreen wants them to get paid, but there's a problem. her plan breaks a long-standing law that makes it illegal for donors to profit from their gift of life. >> as a mom, i'm willing to do whatever it takes to help make that possible. >> reporter: so doreen flinn has become the lead plaintiff in a landmark case to change that

law. >> bone marrow is just like anything else in the world. it's valuable and if you compensate people for it, you're going to get more of it. it's just that simple. >> reporter: doreen's need for bone marrow is particularly dire. years ago doctors told her the best chance for jordan was a transplant from a sibling donor, so doreen and her then husband turned to invitro fertilization to conceive a healthy child who could be that match, but in a cruel twist of fate twins georgia and julia now 7 were born with the same deadly disease as their sister. >> i was so upset. i blamed myself. >> reporter: why? >> we chose to bring them into the world and all i did was bring in two more sick kids. >> reporter: according to the world's largest bone marrow registry there is no shortage of people willing to donate for free. >> we have 9.5 million people on the u.s. registry willing to be that match for that patient, so we are not in a situation where we need to ask somebody to go the extra mile by paying them. they are ready to go if they

match that patient. >> reporter: well, not always. >> this is your donor card. >> reporter: the alarming fact that is according to nationwide estimates nearly half of those who sign up to be donors fail to follow through with their promises to help. for jordan, there is some reason to be hopeful. her doctors identified a bone marrow donor who was a near perfect match, and in may she headed to new york for her transplant. luckily, her donor showed up. doreen continues fighting for her other daughters and wants to increase the opportunities and options for people so more people will keep their promises to donate bone marrow and frankly destigmatize a lot of this, brian. >> nancy, when we talk about bone marrow donations what does it entail? >> reporter: now for most people it is a simple blood draw right out of your arm as if you are donating blood and they separate the stem cells from the blood. >> nancy, thank you very much. we urge all of you to join us

tonight. nancy has more on doreen flinn's story tonight on "rock center" at 10:00, 9:00 central time. up next, a sudden danger at one of america's great summer vacation destinations. looking for a better place to put your cash? here's one you may not have thought of -- fidelity. now you don't have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank, like no-fee atms, all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity.

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you'll be happy to know an asteroid is whizzing by us tonight the size of a city block, and the good news is, while it will be close in terms of infinite space, astronomers say there's not a chance it'll even nick us. in keeping with the romantic way they have in naming such things, this one is called 2012 lz-1. and an update tonight on 7-year-old max page the cute kid who played darth vader in the great volkswagen ad from the 2011 super bowl. max was born with a congenital heart defect. he had open heart surgery today to replace a defective pulmonary

valve. surgeons at children's hospital in l.a. say the surgery went well. they say max should be able to leave the hospital in aut five days, looking at six to eight weeks' recovery after that. big, bad news for a lot of summer vacation plans in the west. the national park service announced today because of the danger of falling boulders it will close some cabins and camping areas at the park's curry village out in yosemite, the same area where a big rock fall destroyed some cabins and injured several campers back in '08. new york city officials are reporting an outbreak just about 200 yards from our studio here in new york tonight. it's an outbreak of fever. oh, that would be bieber fever. the biebs will perform live on the plaza tomorrow morning on "today" and already tonight it looks like a tiny woodstock. the true believers have been waiting already for days. up next here tonight a woman in a leaving her own. this is $100,000.

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but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. finally tonight a woman who is making new history on a field that has seen a lot of that already. she is in a league of her own and nbc's kristen dahlgren has her story tonight.

>> swings on a fly ball! unbelievable! >> reporter: on this hallowed ground that's seen so many greats -- >> click, click, click. >> reporter: there is another dodger making history. >> five more. >> reporter: sue is in a league of her own. >> feels great right now. >> reporter: the first female head athletic trainer, not just in major league baseball, but in the nba, nhl, and nfl. >> it's time. what's up with that? >> reporter: as head trainer, sue goes everywhere with the team making sure multimillion dollar players like all star matt kemp heal after injuries. while trying to prevent them in the first place. >> and rest. good. i get nervous all the time. you know, i want tlem to be okay. keep that toe up. toe up. good. i'm always watching the players as far as, you know, what are they kind of stretching that they normally don't do? what are they sort of shaking off that they don't normally do? >> reporter: there are

challenges to being the first female. >> you're not one of the guys. i'm a girl, so -- i stay out of the club house. that's their area. >> reporter: of course, she can't always avoid the locker room humor. >> sort of go with the ear muffs and she covers her ears and we go on about our business. >> reporter: and there's one more big change since felstoni took over here at dodger stadium. it's not just the players fans come out to see. >> kind of sit back and say, wow. i'm just doing my job every day, but to know that it means that much to some young girls out there is pretty incredible. how are you doing? >> reporter: but in the end her biggest fans -- >> good job. >> reporter: may just be the players. >> sue is as good as it gets. she knows her stuff. >> reporter: she may never be one of the guys but she is now one of the team. >> nice. good job. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with

us. i'm brian williams. we of course hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening and later tonight for rock center. and later tonight for rock center. good night. on our broadcast tonight battleground ohio.